Calling Out the Callups

Nats made some September callups today. I am excited that Ian Desmond is one of them, although I realize I have been getting overly excited about his chances. Regardless, I am very interested in seeing what he can do over the next few weeks.

Desmond is an almost 24 year old SS who has spent much of 2009 playing in AAA Syracuse. In 55 games there, he hit .354/.428/.461. He is clearly not a power hitting prospect, and he isn’t too much of a hitting prospect in general. He’s known for his defense – Baseball America said he had the best infield arm in the farm system from 2006 all the way to this year. Last year, in addition to that, they called him the best defensive infielder. He’s rangy and has a cannon – he’s a real SS. So anything he does with the bat is bonus.

My big question for him is where’s he gonna play? He’s a SS, not a 2B, and a very good one. So is this team going to make the decision to move Guzman to second and play Desmond at SS? Or are they gonna do a little eggshell walking and only play Desmond on “days off” for Guzman? I strongly believe that if Desmond can hit the ball enough, he’s a no brainer at SS. This defensively poor team needs another strong fielder to add to the 2 they have. Other than Morgan and Zimmerman, I’m not sure there’s an above average starter in the field. Up the middle defense, so they say, really sets the tone for a team. Hopefully they can have a great fielding SS in 2010.

Detwiler’s Back

Don’t think I’m not excited about this, either. Ross Detwiler is still the guy who BA called the teams #2 prospect this year. He’s still the guy who, according to them “has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the system.” That was, of course, before this year’s draft. He is still the guy who went straight from AA to the majors, and then after being roughed up finally had a change to pitch in AAA. There, he’s been great – 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA. 42 K and 20 BB in 49.1 IP. A little high on the walks, but still impressive. And he’s still only 23, pitching in only his second full season as a pro.

Also Making the Trip

Marco Estrada got the callup as well, and you may not remember him. He’s not a high end prospect, considering he’s 26 years old, and he was in the majors last year for a bit, where he wasn’t successful. But this year he has been impressive at AAA Syracuse. In 136 1/3 IP he has 98 K to only 33 BB, and a 9-5 record with an ERA of 3.63. It’s nothing to get all excited about, but it’s strong work from someone who deserves another shot at the big league level.

Another 26 year old, Zach Segovia, got the call as well. He saw the majors briefly in 2007, starting one game in Philly. But he hadn’t looked impressive on any level since 2006, then this year he became a reliever and has really found his niche. AA could hold him, there he had a 3.68 ERA, 39K/19BB in 44 IP. He got pulled up to Syracuse where he did even better – 2.54 ERA with 27 K and 8 BB in 28 1/3 IP. Could be a case of having the wrong role. You try a guy out as long as you can as a starter, they’re infinitely more valuable. But if he can’t do it, see what he can do as a reliever.